Jibril Abdul-Muwwakil, a 24-year-old DC man with a history of mental illness, was ordered held on suspicion of second-degree murder Wednesday.
He is suspected in connection with the stabbing death of 17-year-old Jonathon Adams.
At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Judge Jennifer Anderson ruled Abdul-Muwwakil was a danger to the community based on his criminal history and mental health status. Prosecutors told the judge that at the time of the murder, Abdul-Muwwakil was on release for a simple assault charge and was supposed to be seeking mental health treatment. Prosecutors said Abdul-Muwwakil was found using K2, a synthetic form of cannabis, and failed several drug tests.
Arrest documents indicate that witnesses told police that Abdul-Muwwakil is schizophrenic and bipolar, but also allege that Adams may have gone after Abdul-Muwwakil. Detectives say Adams told a witness that he didn’t care if Muwwakil was “retarded,” he was going to “get him” again.
Defense attorney Maneka Sinha argued Wednesday that Abdul-Muwwakil has no prior convictions of this scale and asked the court release Abdul-Muwwakil with an ankle monitor or to a halfway house.
“The evidence is largely circumstantial, there is no forensic evidence that connects Abdul,” added Sinha in Abdul-Muwwakil’s defense. She told the court that none of the three witnesses in the affidavit actually saw the stabbing.
Arrest documents in the case describe a trail of blood from where Adams collapsed to inside the building’s second floor, outside the apartment that Abdul-Muwwakil shared with a family member.
Abdul-Muwwakil’s uncle told police he saw Abdul-Muwwakil’s hands covered in blood and holding an Android phone was not his that evening, documents say. According to the documents, Abdul-Muwwakil did not say anything to his uncle when asked about the blood, went into the bathroom, washed his hands and left the apartment for the rest of the day. The uncle also told police that Abdul-Muwwakil would sometimes carry knives and a screwdriver with him.
A status hearing in this case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on June 6.
A copy of Abdul-Muwwakil’s arrest documents are below.
